The Eagles made an announcement early Monday afternoon that every one knew was coming and so many never thought would happen four weeks into last season.
Coach Nick Sirianni received a multi-year contract extension ahead of his final year on the initial deal he signed in 2021.
A year ago at this time, he was sitting on a searing hot seat. He was entering his fourth year as the team’s coach and a lot of fans weren’t happy about it.
After a trip to the Super Bowl in his second season, Sirianni lost his offensive and defensive coordinators and then his team lost its way, collapsing like a house of cards following a 10-1 start.
He responded by firing both men (Sean Desai and Matt Patricia) who served as his defensive coordinators and he also got rid of Brian Johnson, the offensive coordinator who had a tremendously close relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Go back and look at the odds on Sirianni lasting beyond his fourth season in Philadelphia at this time a year ago and you can find plenty of material.
CBS Sports ranked him sixth among the coaches most likely to get fired last season with the following remarks: Sirianni’s record is sterling; his .667 win percentage ranks third among all coaches ... yet his Birds looked increasingly uninspired in a 1-6 stretch to close 2023, including a postseason flop. ... Reloaded with new coordinators and an all-star lineup, Sirianni has a conceivable path back to glory, but the bar is set so high in Philly, it’s almost a surprise he’s back at all.
The heat intensified when the Eagles started 2-2 last season, blowing a fourth-quarter lead against the Falcons at home and getting torched again by the Buccaneers in Tampa.
Yahoo, at that point, suggested that if the Eagles “stumble out of the bye against a quartet of teams that (are) currently a collective 5-15, it wouldn’t be a shocker if Sirianni quickly found himself as the guy next to (the Jets) Robert Saleh on the unemployment line.”
The Eagles beat the Browns out of the bye, but Sirianni still became “Nick from Mudville” when the FOX broadcast caught him jawing with the crowd near the end of the game and then he held an awkward news conference with his three kids in attendance afterward.
It was after that win when the criticism of Sirianni reached its crescendo. ESPN’s Damien Woody said the coach “looked like an absolute clown.”
Like so much in today’s sports world, the incident was blown out of proportion. Yes, it was a bad look for Sirianni. But he later corroborated a story by the fan he was yelling at who said he was telling the coach to run the football and Sirianni responded by saying, “I told you we would.”
The Eagles, of course, ran the ball over and over and over again after that. They rushed for more than 200 yards eight times in their final 16 games, winning all but one of them.
As the season progressed, it became clear that Sirianni was the voice inside his players’ heads.
Saquon Barkley, the running back who accounted for 65.8% of the franchise record 3,038 rushing yards, and others were parroting Sirianni’s expression that “you can’t be great without the greatness of others.”
Hurts, who didn’t always seem to agree with the way Sirianni handled things when the season opened, came to a terms of an agreement with his head coach following some crucial conversations during the bye week.
No Eagles’ coach in NFL history ever had a team more ready to play than Sirianni did in Super Bowl LIX and now he has twice beaten Andy Reid, the man who is considered the gold standard among active NFL head coaches.
Sirianni is a Super Bowl champion and, remarkably, the dean of coaches in Philadelphia as he enters his fifth year. He’s also the dean of coaches in the NFC East with the firing of Mike McCarthy by the Cowboys at the end of last season.
Only nine head coaches in the NFL have been at their job with the same team longer than Sirianni and his .701 winning percentage (54-23) is better than all of them. In fact, it’s better than all but three men who have coached in the league and one of them is named Vince Lombardi.
Given those set of facts, it’s truly remarkable that Sirianni’s extension was in question as recently as seven months ago, but job security is an oxymoron most places in the NFL.
Sirianni’s seat isn’t so hot any more, but even after a Super Bowl title it always remains at least lukewarm in Philadelphia.
Remember, the Eagles were booed on opening night seven years ago after raising their first Super Bowl banner at the Linc. And now Sirianni has another new offensive coordinator, his third in as many years. This time it’s his righthand man and long-time buddy Kevin Patullo.
Scrutiny will remain high for the coach who truly earned his second contract.
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Bob Brookover can be reached atrbrookover@njadvancemedia.com